The Rules Of Life One Shot
by Dee1431
Summary: There are certain rules we all try and follow in life. But when Ryan breaks an ultimate male rule, will his best friend forgive him? Or make him give up the one person he's always wanted?


They were best friends, they always had been.

They had grown up next door to each other; always spending time together and they eventually learned everything about each other. From what their favorite color was to what they wanted their futures to be like. It was the kind of relationship between friends that everyone craved to have. In their high school yearbook, they were named the "Joey and Chandler" best friends and couldn't help but agree.

Ryan was a jock, he played football and baseball. He had a ton of friends from sports and every girl in the school wanted to have him. It wasn't hard for him to be a ladies man with his sandy blonde hair, dark blue eyes and chiseled jaw. He had a beautifully muscled body and was naturally tan. But although he had gotten everything he wanted and more, Ryan was still more of a kind and unselfish boy than anything. He appreciated everything his parents did and helped out in any way that he possibly could. But knew that he wanted by all the girls, and he used it to his advantage whenever he could by having girlfriend after girlfriend.

Seth was more of a loner. He did have friends; he was one of the most talented musicians in the entire school with his acoustic guitar and strong voice. While he wasn't much of a ladies man, Ryan did help in that field. It was easy for Seth to get the girls after they fell in love with his music; the strong voice that the girls loved was who Seth was. But he wasn't ugly in the slightest way; he had dark brown curly hair and a lighter complexion. He was skinny and lanky, but in a cute way, well that's at least what he heard some girl say. Seth didn't have half the friends that Ryan had, but neither of them cared. Seth was also a bit on the selfish side, he knew what he wanted and made sure he got it but his parents loved him nonetheless. They were complete opposites but that just made them balance each other out.

Ryan was an only child, living in a large semi large house in the beautiful city of San Diego. Seth lived right next door, making it easy for them to always hang out. They had both gone to the same school, a great elementary school that was disciplined and got them ready for high school. They got to High School and both knew that even through all the cliques of high school, they wouldn't be sucked in.

Seth was not an only child. He was an older brother to a younger sister, Marissa. Marissa was two years younger than him and had a wild mind of her own. While Seth was more simple and uncomplicated, Marissa was a vibrant girl who loved everything to be different. While Seth listened and sang emotional rock, Marissa was listening to the hard rock of the 70's and 80's such as Guns and Roses, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd. Marissa didn't follow the rules and always found way to get out of trouble. She and Seth also looked completely different, while Seth had black hair like their father; Marissa was blonde like her mother. With a long, slender body, bright blue eyes, long blonde hair that went in soft curls, and amazingly smooth skin, she was a true beauty.

Marissa was more mature than Seth in many ways. She was going through and done with the whole "party-hard-and-do-drugs" stage when Seth was just starting it. She had lost her virginity at age 15 to her boyfriend when Seth was 17 and still hadn't. She had already snuck out of the house more than 10 times when Seth got caught for sneaking out his first time. She just didn't believe in following the rules and found that life was too short to lay back and do nothing.

She knew that all the girls at the school talked about her, but she didn't care. Some girls called her a slut because she had lost her virginity so young but Marissa was fine with the way she lost her virginity, she had lost her virginity to her boyfriend of seven months who was about to move to Colorado. She thought it would be more special that way, but since that, she hadn't had sex again.

Some would say that Seth was a coward because his sister had done way more than him. Or some would say that he was smart for staying out of trouble, but that's what his parents said, so that didn't mean much to Seth. Seth had the chance to care about what people said, but he didn't, he didn't care that his sister was rougher around the edges than he was. He didn't care that she was more experienced than he was or that she had done more. He loved her for that, he loved that he could have fun with her and then go back to being safe. Because that's what he was, he was safe, he was cautious, he was the perfect brother for Marissa because those characteristics of her brother were what saved her ass a million times.

Seth didn't care that he had to bail Marissa a lot, he secretly loved it. He felt as if he was the hero and that he had a true responsibility that was all his. And while Marissa was still getting better grades than he was, he just couldn't help but laugh and sit back. She was _"Wonder Woman in the flesh"_ said Ryan one night after they had just picked her up from a party where she had gotten drunk and passed out. She got away with everything and Seth was a main reason for that. He helped her with just about everything, guys especially. Seth knew that Marissa was constantly chased by guys that wanted to be with her, but she never gave them a second glance, she gave that glance to more surprising people.

Seth had always noticed the way Marissa looked at Ryan; it was the same look that every girl in school gave Ryan when they would walk by him. Seth thought it was a mere crush and would pass with time, so he didn't worry. But the more Seth would think about it, Ryan did always have a teasing relationship with her, it started when he was fifteen and Marissa was thirteen. She had just started to "turn into a woman" he heard his mother say to Marissa when she complained that her jeans were too short for her. She had grown into a beautiful girl. Her blonde hair had turned lighter and gotten longer, her bright blue eyes seemed to have added color to them, a little bit of green. She grew a lot taller, growing into her hips and making her legs quite a sight for any man, and breasts that added even curves to her body.

Seth would come home late from school and Marissa and Ryan would be talking the living room, as if they were the only people in the world, of course as soon as Seth came home, Ryan would go with Seth to hang out but Seth did notice their relationship. Kirsten and Sandy thought it was nice that he was kind and friendly to Marissa; Ryan did always include her when he and Seth would hang out but Marissa usually declined. But when she didn't, Seth would sit back and watch them converse. They did start flirting at some point, noted Seth, he guessed that it was around the time he and Ryan turned 17 and Marissa was 15. Seth merely shrugged it off and kept it in his head that Ryan was being friendly to Marissa.

When he and Ryan left for College, Marissa knew it time to change some aspects of her life since Seth wouldn't be around to bail her out anymore. Seth was leaving for Berkeley School of Music in Boston and Ryan was going to University of California at Los Angeles so he could come home and see his family, also to conserve money by staying in California. Seth didn't get to come home as much but his parents were happy that he had found a college that he really loved. He would call home occasionally and talk to Marissa, finding out that she was starting to look at colleges and was doing even better in school than she was last time they talked. She had started to straighten out, although she was still rough around the edges, she knew it was time to be serious, considering that she could party again in college if she wanted.

He had called home one night and talked to his mom, it had been a normal conversation, merely asking how she was or how dad was and took a quick turn with a simple question. "Is Marissa there? I haven't been able to reach her on her cell phone lately" Seth said into the phone as he grabbed a sweatshirt from his closet. "Oh no honey she isn't, it's so funny that you're calling though. Ryan came home this weekend to visit his family and came over here to visit, he was talking to Marissa for awhile and they ended up going to a concert that Marissa had an extra ticket to. She was supposed to go with Bailey but she had to go to a funeral with her parents, so she asked Ryan" she said. Seth sat stunned for a second, Ryan? Of all people, it was Ryan. "Seth?" his mother asked once again, he was brought out of his day dream, "yeah sorry…just tell her I said hey…I've got to go mom, I'll talk to you later" he said and quickly got off the phone.

He sat down on his bed and grabbed his text book, he tried to study for his exam but found it impossible. The thoughts were running through his mind, was it a date? Were they just hanging out? Did she think it was a date? Did he? There were so many questions he had for the both of them but at the same time didn't want to worry about something that could be nothing. But they were out together, so it had to be something…right?

The next weekend, Seth came home to visit everyone and to celebrate Marissa's 16th birthday. Seth walked into his house and was bombarded by his sister's arms around him, "Seth! I've missed you so much" she said as she warmly hugged him. Seth smiled and pulled away, "I've missed you too…happy birthday" he said happily. Marissa smiled and led him into the kitchen, she was looking more and more grown up every single day he thought to himself. If he didn't know her, he would say she looked more like 19 or 20 years old. They sat down at the table, "how's school?" he asked as he took a sip of his Pepsi, "its good…I've been looking at a lot of colleges and SAT's are coming up…but I'm not nervous" she said. Seth smiled, "you'll do fine, you are one of the smartest people I know" he said seriously and she giggled. "Where are mom and dad?" he asked as he glanced around the big kitchen.

"At the store, they went to pick up candles for the cake" she said as she gestured to the beautifully decorated cream colored cake and turned back to him. He looked at the cake and the flower designs around the writing in the middle that said, _Happy Sweet Sixteen Marissa, We Love You_. "You always did get the best birthday cakes" Seth said with smirk. Marissa laughed out loud as the doorbell rang, "that's because mom and dad love me more" she said as he stood up and he laughed. "They love you as much as a rash" he said before leaving the room, hearing the sound of her loud laughter from the kitchen as he opened the door to see Ryan on the other side. "Hey man" he said as he hugged Ryan, "hey…it's good to see you" he said with a smile.

Ryan stepped inside the house and took off his jacket, "what are you doing here?" Seth asked curiously. "It's Marissa's birthday…and I knew that you'd be home so I thought it'd be perfect to come hang out with you" he said. Seth noticed the nicely wrapped gift in his hand and closed the door behind him. They walked into the kitchen where Marissa was getting a glass of water for herself, "hey birthday girl" Ryan said as she excitedly stood up and gave him a hug. "Hey yourself…it's good to see you" she said as they hugged, a little too long for Seth's liking. They separated and Marissa took her normal seat and Ryan sat down next to her, while Seth took the seat across from the both of them.

They chatted ambiguously until Sandy and Kirsten came home, lit the candles on her cake and sang happy birthday to her. Marissa started to open her various presents and was happy with her many clothes and little gifts from Kirsten and Sandy. Seth handed her his gift and she opened the gift which was tickets to the Rolling Stones at Fenway Park. Marissa squealed and stood up, she hugged him excitedly, "Seth this is awesome, thank you so much" she said. Seth laughed, "Well I thought you come down for the weekend, we could check out my campus and see Boston. The concert is during the summer but it will be great to go see" he said, happy with himself for getting a good gift. There was only one more gift, a small box with a red bow on the top, obviously from Ryan, Seth said to himself. Marissa slowly opened the box pulled out a mini card that merely said, "Go to your driveway" and Ryan looked up to see the smile on his face. She spoke the words out loud before putting down the card and running to the door of the house.

She opened the door and let a scream escape her lips, Sandy, Seth, Kirsten and Ryan followed behind her to see a black 650i BMW convertible in the driveway with a large red bow on the top. Marissa stood speechless in front of the car. "Oh my god" she said quietly before opening the car door and sitting in the front seat. Sandy and Kirsten turned to Ryan who was smiling happily, "Ryan Atwood, we're going to kill you, you got her a car" they said and Ryan laughed. "Well my parents bought me this car last year, you guys remember? It was silver, but I had it painted over. Anyways, they got me a new car and I honestly did not need this car so I thought it would be a good gift" he said.

Seth stood sourly in the back, a car? That beat the Rolling Stones tickets pretty quick. Ryan stepped closer to the car and leaned down to the window, "you like it?" he asked with a wide smile. Marissa turned to him, "Ry…this is the best gift…I cannot believe you" she said. Ryan laughed and made his way around the car to the front seat next to her and got in the car. "Well I knew you would like it…but if your grades drop whatsoever, I'm taking it back" he said with a smile. Marissa leaned forward and hugged Ryan and he hugged her back, Seth watched and knew it, he knew it at that very moment, there was something going on between his best friend and his sister.

"There's nothing going on Seth….I promise" Ryan said later as they ate in Ryan's kitchen. "I just thought she would like the car, there isn't anything going on between Marissa and I." Seth stared at Ryan as Ryan looked back helplessly; he had to trust his best friend right? I mean he had no reason not to trust him, but he just didn't know why but he still had the feeling in the back of his head that Ryan wasn't being honest. I mean if there was something going on, it wasn't illegal, Marissa was 16 and Ryan was 18 so Ryan couldn't get into trouble. But that wasn't the point, Seth said to himself, shaking the other thoughts from his mind. It was illegal in his mind, there was a code for guys, and one of the codes that you never break is going out with a best friend's sister. It's just a rule you don't break.

The weekend ended peacefully and everyone returned to where they were supposed to be, Seth in Boston, Ryan in Los Angeles, and Marissa in San Diego. More months passed by as Marissa's senior year came and was soon coming to an end. Many other students were taking last minute trips to colleges that they were thinking about, she had already taken seven trips and knew that she could only fit in one last trip before she would make her final decision about where she would go to college. The last trip would be to University of California at Los Angeles. _Another time to see Ryan_, thought Seth as he hung up the phone after talking to his mother. His mother had told him that Marissa was at UCLA for the weekend and staying with Ryan as she looked around the campus, much to Seth's surprise. While being angry that neither of them had told him, he couldn't help but be curious about what was happening on the other side of the country without him.

Ryan and Marissa sat in Ryan's dorm at that very same moment, merely drinking and playing cards. They hadn't been drinking long, so there was no intoxication in sight. Marissa looked at her cards before looking back up at Ryan, who was already staring back up at her. She laughed, "What? You've been doing that to me all night" Marissa said referring to him watching her and whenever she would look at him, he'd already be looking at her. Ryan shook his head with a smile and looked down at his cards. After about ten more minutes, they put the cards away and both took a seat on Ryan's couch.

Ryan turned to her, "you know, I really am proud of you" he said and she smiled. "Proud of what?" she asked nicely, "how you're doing in school…the college thing, and you not partying as much anymore…it was a smart thing to do Marissa and I know it was hard…" he trailed off. He looked down at his hands, "I know it was hard because that was your life…but you broke away from that and I really respect that Marissa" he said as he turned back to look at her. Marissa smiled brightly, "thank you Ryan…it means a lot to me that someone noticed" she said quietly. Ryan stared curiously at her, "I just mean…I stopped partying and getting into trouble, I'm looking into colleges and taking things seriously. It wasn't easy for me to just jump out of a life I was so used to…and I just felt like no one noticed" she said before looking down at her hands. Ryan lifted her chin up with his finger, "I noticed" he said softly.

Ryan and Marissa stayed close to each other, their lips inches apart, breathing heavily. They continued to keep their eyes locked and Ryan took the first step and leaned into her. She was so close, he thought, as he smelt her lip gloss, the exotic smell of her shampoo and perfume was blinding his senses. He had never experience a moment like this before with a woman and he knew this would always be a significant moment for him. And as he leaned in the rest of the way, Marissa's cell phone rang, breaking their moment. Marissa closed her eyes and pulled away slowly; she got off the couch and grabbed her phone from her bag. She looked at the caller ID that said _Mom_ and silenced her phone.

She turned back to Ryan who was setting up a movie to watch, "I hope that Steven Seagal is okay" he said as she sat back down on the couch. Marissa laughed, "You only watch Steven Seagal" she stated with a wide smile. Ryan turned to her with a playful glare, "I'd rather watch Steven Seagal any day over that Breakfast at Tiffany's stuff you watch" he said playfully before starting the movie and turning off the lights in the dorm. Marissa laughed and smacked him playfully as he sat down; he just laughed and leaned back against the couch. It was quiet as they both concentrated on the movie, but Marissa noticed when he lifted his arm and placed it on the back of the couch around her. Marissa took that as a chance to lean in and place her head on his shoulder, but what she expected, for Ryan to tense up, didn't come, he merely just relaxed and placed his hand on her back.

The movie was half way through when Ryan turned to look down at Marissa and saw that she had already been looking at him, a simple act that took every thought away as he leaned in and kissed her. It was an affectionate kiss, a kiss that cleared all her curious thoughts and cured any insecurity she had. He placed her hand on her cheek and pulled her in closer to him, wanting to get more and more of her. It seemed like hours before he pulled away, but it was more like seconds. "We can't do this" he said quietly and pulled away from her and the couch. Marissa sat quietly on the couch, looking up innocently at him. She knew very well why they shouldn't be doing what they were doing, but she didn't care.

"Seth is my best friend Marissa…and you're his sister" he said quietly as she let out a deep sigh. "And I'd be lying to you if I said that the kiss meant nothing to me, but we can't do this" he said before running a hand through his hair. Marissa looked up at him, "if that kiss meant something to the both of us, than why not Ryan?" she asked. Ryan looked at her, the beautiful girl sitting in front of him that he'd wanted to have for too long and now could have, but knew he shouldn't. "We just can't Marissa…I want to Marissa…god I want to" he heard himself say and moved away even farther. _Stop talking you idiot, _he said to himself before taking even more steps away from the couch towards the door. "Marissa I need to just go clear my head before I say things…things that will make this even more complicated" he mumbled as he ran a hand over his face and grabbed his sweatshirt and left the dorm.

Ryan came back a little while later to his dorm, to find no Marissa, but a note on his bed. He noticed her hand writing immediately and read her words:

_Ryan, _

_I went to stay at a hotel for the night. I'm driving back home tomorrow morning so don't worry about how I'll get home. I'm sorry if I did something to mess up our relationship. You mean so much to me Ryan. Don't worry about me; I'll be at the Beverly Hills Hotel. _

_Marissa_

Ryan placed down the letter on his bed and laid back. He let every thought fly through his mind once more before sleep took over him.

Ryan woke up the next morning and looked at the clock next to his bed, it was quarter past 10. It was the morning, thought Ryan, and in a flash he got up, ran around to get ready and left the dorm. He got into his car and raced down the roads of Los Angeles and turned onto Sunset Boulevard. He stopped in front of the hotel, not bothering to listen to the men telling him to move his car. He ran inside to the concierge, "excuse me" he said and the concierge looked up and smiled, "how can I help you sir?" the woman asked. "Can you please tell me if a Marissa Cooper has checked out?" he asked while breathing heavily. The concierge typed in the information and looked up at him, "I'm sorry sir but she checked out about a half hour ago" she said sadly. Ryan just nodded his head and mumbled a thank you before leaving the hotel.

Weeks passed by and it was now time for Marissa's graduation. Seth had come home from college a couple weeks before that and had spent most of his with Marissa. He had noticed that she had been acting differently, more quiet than anything. The loud Marissa he had known was gone and he didn't know why, but as he remembered who Marissa saw a few weeks ago, he couldn't help but think maybe it was connected.

It was only one day before graduation and Marissa still hadn't chosen a school, she didn't know why she hadn't but she couldn't choose. She could only choose out of two schools, considering the many others she had been accepted into had gone way past their due dates.

Kirsten and Sandy planned a party for the night before the graduation and the night of. The night before, all of their family and friends were in attendance. Marissa glided across the house in a beautiful champagne colored dress. The dress was short and hugged every curve, short enough to show off her long and tan legs. She was waiting for a certain someone to arrive and didn't know what to do until he did. She made her way upstairs to go the bathroom as Kirsten and Sandy opened the door for Ryan and another guest. Marissa checked herself in the mirror, making sure she looked okay and left the bathroom. She made her way down the stairs to the kitchen and into the kitchen where she saw Ryan and Seth hugging.

Seth turned and saw her standing and called her over, Ryan turned to the direction of Marissa and felt his heart stop. She was gorgeous he thought, more gorgeous than he could ever handle. He had tried to get himself ready for this night, but found it was useless against Marissa. "Hey Ryan" she said with a small smile and he smiled back, "hey" he said as he hugged her tightly. They pulled away and Marissa noticed the beautiful girl next to Ryan, she was shorter than he was with a slender body. The slender body was covered in a dark green strapless dress that went to her knees; she had a dark tan skin tone and piercing green eyes. Her hair was long and black like a raven, it was curled down her back and Marissa couldn't help but feel insecure in front of this girl.

Ryan turned to the girl, "Amy, this is Marissa. Marissa this is Amy…my girlfriend" he said quietly. Marissa didn't dare turn to look at Ryan; she simply smiled at Amy "its nice meeting you" she said kindly and left the room to go the open bar to grab a drink. Seth noticed her sudden change and left Ryan and Amy, Seth watched as Marissa held her drink and quietly opened the front door and stepped onto the steps. Seth followed after her and sat down next to her as she took a lip sip of her drink, rum and coke, he figured. "You like Ryan, don't you?" he asked quietly. Marissa shook her head and took another sip, "Seth…please don't…I can't deal with it if you start criticizing me" she said as she closed her eyes.

"I won't criticize you. I'll just let you know that if it comes down to you or him, it will always be you Marissa…you're my flesh and blood and while Ryan is practically my brother, I could never replace you" he said quietly before kissing her forehead and going back inside. He closed the door behind him and turned to see Ryan in front of him. Seth and Ryan continued to stare at each for a few minutes, "leave her alone Ryan…she's hurt enough" he said and Ryan looked down at the floor. "Please Seth…I just need a minute with her" he said desperately. Seth sighed and moved away from the door, allowing him to go outside and talk to her.

Ryan closed the door and stood behind her, "I'm surprised you came out here" she muttered as she took the lip sip of her drink. Ryan sighed and took a seat next to her on the stairs, "I'm sorry Marissa" he said quietly as he turned to look at her. "So am I" she sadly said before standing up to go back inside. Ryan quickly stood up and grabbed her arm, "Marissa…please" he said. Marissa pulled her arm away from him, "please what? What do you want me to say?" she said angrily. Ryan stuffed his hands into his pockets, "I don't know" he said helplessly and she laughed bitterly. Marissa walked down the stairs and turned to him once she reached the landing.

"Well here's something for you" she said with blazing eyes, "you kiss me a month ago and tell me that you want to be with me. You tell me that the kiss meant something to you and yet here you are, at my graduation party with another girl a month later. So really Ryan, what else can I say to you?" she asked angrily. Ryan simply stood; he had nothing to say to her, everything she said was true, but Marissa wasn't done yet. "Wait a minute; I do have something else to say. I had to choose between going to UCLA or Saint Anselms which is in New England for college and now I've decided" she said before slowly making her way back up the stairs. "I'm leaving…I chose my college and it's Saint Anselms" she said slowly. She stepped next to him, "so thank you for making my decision for college so much easier" she said bitterly before opening the door and slamming it behind her.

The graduation was far behind them as Seth helped Marissa move into her dorm. She seemed happy, but he knew she wasn't. She hadn't been happy since the graduation and everyone knew it. Ryan wasn't happy either from what Seth could tell; he never seemed to be upbeat like he used to be. The college Marissa chose was great; it was a small Catholic college with lots of greens. After Seth left Marissa that weekend and returned to Boston, he knew that his sister truly had a broken heart but she wouldn't let him see it.

Christmas came around and it was time for the college kids to go home and see their families. Marissa didn't seem as excited for Christmas as she used to be and for some reason, Seth couldn't find a reason to be excited either. Marissa was the only reason that enjoyed the holidays, she made them fun, Seth noted. Marissa was the only person that Seth knew who could find happiness or beauty out of anything in the world, but that person was long gone. Seth had spoken to Ryan and he was coming home as well, something he wasn't too thrilled about. He knew that they would end up seeing each other, which would end up in more heart ache but he really couldn't do much to stop it.

It was the day before Christmas Eve and the Atwood's were having their annual Christmas Party. A lot of the community was there to celebrate, along with the Cohen's. Ryan stood at the bar, getting a drink when someone came up at the other side of the bar and ordered a drink, the voice that ordered was a voice that he hadn't heard in a long time. He turned to see Marissa at the end and saw how beautiful she still was, she was still the stunning girl he remembered. He slowly walked over to her, "Marissa" he said and she turned to him, "Ryan" she said with a smile. Ryan leaned in and hugged her and she hugged back, "I missed you…a lot" he said as he hugged her. Marissa felt her lip start to quiver; "I've missed you too" she said and pulled away from him.

They stood in front of each other for another moment, "could we talk?" he asked quietly as she picked up her drink from the bar. "Yeah…that sounds good" she said while looking down, she followed him inside and up to his bedroom where they went inside and closed the door behind them.

Seth looked around the house for either Ryan or Marissa and couldn't find either of them, he didn't think they could be together, or could they? He continued to search until he went upstairs and opened the door to Ryan's bedroom, where a kissing Ryan and Marissa broke apart on the bed. Seth stood angrily at the door and Marissa and Ryan stood up quickly, "what the hell are you doing?" he yelled at Ryan, "she's my sister" he yelled as he came further into the bedroom. Marissa tried to come closer to Seth, "Seth please…calm down" she said before Seth walked around her to Ryan. "She's my sister Ryan…what are you doing with her?" he said with rage flowing through his veins. He had thought this was possible for years, but never did he think it would happen.

"Seth please" he heard Marissa say from behind him, "Marissa leave" he said as he turned around to face her. Marissa stood silently, "go Marissa" he yelled once more and she left the room slowly, closing the door behind her. Seth turned back to Ryan with a glare more powerful than he had known he was capable of. "Dude, I know…" Ryan started to say but Seth cut him off, "oh you know? You know what it's like to have your best friend fool around with your sister? You know what its like to watch your sister practically become a mute because she's heartbroken over your best friend. I doubt you do" Seth said angrily. Ryan sighed and looked down at the ground; he stuffed his hands inside his black dress pant pockets. "I understand why you're mad at me…I really do. And I would understand if you told me to never talk to you again, but you have to think about it Seth. We always learned from Marissa to not follow the rules and do what you want" he said as he looked back up at him.

"And the things I remember most from my life are the things I was not supposed to do, but I've done them anyways. And loving Marissa is the top one on that list Seth" he said and Seth looked up surprised. "I love Marissa…I love her a lot. I have for a really long time but just didn't realize it. And now that I know, I don't want to lose her, and I don't want to hurt her, and I know that I've hurt her before but I can't take that back." Seth stood stunned, "I just want to be with her Seth…so please don't push me away from her. Because life is just too short to be following these rules" he said quietly.

They stood quietly in front of each other for a few minutes while Seth let everything sink into his mind, "What about Amy?" he asked. Ryan shrugged, "Amy who?" he said, Seth sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "go find her" he said and moved out of the way. Ryan smiled, "thank you Seth" he said before pulling away and running out of the room and down the stairs of the house.

Ryan looked around the house for Marissa and when he didn't find her, he went to the front porch where she sat quietly on the swing. He made his way up to her and she looked up at him, Ryan smiled and sat down next to her. Marissa turned to him and smiled, "how'd it go?" she asked. Ryan leaned in closer to her lips, "pretty good" he said before leaning in and kissing her. They pulled away and rested their foreheads on each other, breathing heavily from kissing. "I explained to him about some rules in life" Ryan said as he tucked some of her hair behind her ear. "You mean the rules that we never follow?" Marissa said with a laugh. Ryan chuckled and kissed her again, "yeah…those rules" Ryan said softly.

They were the couple that was never supposed to be together. They had rules set to keep them apart, but like Ryan said, "life is just too short to be following these rules."


End file.
